Stage of pregnancy dictates heterothermy in temperate forest-dwelling bats |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada;2. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center and Department of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada;3. Perinatal Epidemiology Research Unit, Dalhousie University and Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dalhousie University and Izaak Walton Killam Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;1. Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic;2. Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic;1. School of Mathematical Sciences, Laboratory of Mathematics and Complex Systems, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, People’s Republic of China;2. School of Science, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, People’s Republic of China;1. Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Asthma Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea;2. Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea;3. National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, Seoul, Korea;4. Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea;5. Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management, Seoul, Korea;6. Department of Statistics, Dongguk University, Seoul, Korea;7. Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea;1. Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA;2. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington D.C., USA;3. Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA;1. Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA;2. Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA;3. Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | Bats face high energetic requirements, as powered flight is costly and they have a disadvantageous surface-to-volume-ratio. To deal with those requirements energy saving mechanisms, such as heterothermy (torpor), have evolved. Torpor during pregnancy, however, reduces rates of foetal development and consequently prolongs pregnancy. Therefore, heterothermy has a great effect on reproduction, as an unhindered parturition can only be assured by high body temperatures. Regardless of these adverse affects of torpor the energetic requirements of bats during reproduction urge for energy savings and bats are known to enter torpor during pregnancy. The species in the current study differ in their torpor patterns and thus their heterothermic strategy. However, we hypothesized, that species-specific heterothermic behaviour should be revoked at the end of pregnancy. We analyzed skin temperatures of Myotis bechsteinii, Myotis nattereri and Plecotus auritus during pregnancy and found no differences in torpor depth between species during the last phase of pregnancy. Furthermore, we could show that individuals entered torpor frequently during pregnancy and only minimized torpor during the last stage of pregnancy. This suggests that close to the end of pregnancy, heterothermy is restricted but not species-specific and the required energy is allocated otherwise. |
| |
| Keywords: | Chiroptera Gleaning bats Reproduction Skin temperatures Telemetry Torpor |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
